Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Ukraine

Ukraine Says 164 People Sickened By Toxic Smoke

The number of people made ill by the toxic smoke has risen since the train derailed and caught fire on July 16 (AFP)

July 20, 2007 -- Ukraine's Health Ministry says the number of people hospitalized following a spill of highly toxic yellow phosphorus in western Ukraine has reached 164, including 34 children.

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July 20, 2007

Health Minister Yuriy Haydayev said authorities had checked 16,000 people for symptoms of chemical poisoning.

Officials have repeatedly said there is no widespread danger to local residents after the train derailed in the Lviv region on July 16, sparking a fire and releasing a toxic cloud.

(Interfax, AP)

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

'Police Detain Stuffed Animals' In Minsk Toy Protest

Belarusian youth activists say police have "detained" some stuffed animals used in an antigovernment protest in Minsk, in an echo of similar recent protests in Russia. More

There are frequent reports in the Bulgarian and Ukrainian media about Romanian “pirates” robbing passing transport ships on the Danube. (file photo)

Reports Of 'Pirates Of The Danube' Get The Old Heave-Ho

An attack last month on a Ukrainian barge on the Romanian sector of the Danube River has caused a diplomatic tussle between Bucharest and Kyiv, sparking media reports of possible acts of piracy on Europe's second-largest river. But do “Danube pirates” actually exist? More